What's In My Beauty Mail...

There seems to have been a few rather exciting bits and bobs making their way into my letterbox lately. It'd only be polite to share them with you all, right? There's a bit of variety here, from high-end to the more affordable pieces. There's even a mask that I love and am fast becoming obsessed with. Here's what's made its way into the beauty stash...

Benefit Dew the Hoola*-Benefit's Hoola Bronzer is a cult favourite for a reason. The matte bronzer seems to flatter a wide range of skin tones and it's a staple in many a girl's makeup bag. Dew the Hoola is a liquid bronzer designed to be applied under, or on top of makeup to add a hint of warmth and subtle glow to the complexion. I apply this after my primer and before foundation. It adds the subtlest of tints, no Oompa-Loompa vibes in sight.

Beauty Blender-I finally caved and bought a Beauty Blender. It's only been something I've deliberated for the last year or two but it's happened and I am hooked. I wanted to get the nude one, mainly because I thought it'd mask the foundation and concealer stains a bit better than some of the more brighter colours. I'm sure you all know how a Beauty Blender works by now so I'll skip the description. Compared to other sponges, this feels a lot softer and bouncier. It's hard to explain but it makes such a difference to blending in products like concealer and foundation. I have only used this once but I can see it becoming a firm favourite.

Benefit Hoola Zero Tanlines*-There's also a body bronzer in the expanded Hoola lineup. It comes with a twist-off sponge applicator that you apply the product to and then blend in circular motions. It sounds intriguing, and products like this do tend to intimidate my paler self but I have seen positive reviews from porcelain babes online so I have high hopes. This tanner novice will keep you posted...

Australis Banana Powder-These yellow-hued powders seem to either only come in contour palettes, or as a loose powder, the latter which I'm not a huge fan of. So when I saw Australis, one of my favourite budget brands had bought out a single powder version I had to grab it. Again, I have only used this once-to be fair it arrived a day prior to me writing this. I'm a bit undecided about this one, the powder's a bit too thick for my liking and I felt like it settled under my eyes a bit. This could be because I've been forgetful with the eye cream lately though so I'll keep playing around with it.

Ardell Glamour Lashes & Demi Lashes*-In an attempt to push myself out of my narrow beauty comfort zone, I was sent some Ardell lashes. I think lashes are a thing a lot of us avoid because they are fiddly and require practice+patience. I have worn some Ardell lashes before though and found them really comfortable to wear. If I have an eyelash win, you'll spy it on the 'gram.

NYX Intense Butter Gloss in Napolean-This was totally an Estee Lalonde inspired buy after watching her March Favourites video. I'll be honest, I wasn't a huge fan of the original Butter Glosses but I thought I'd give the revamped ones a shot. This colour reminds me a lot of Impassioned lipstick x MAC, it's a vibrant, coral pink. This gloss feels a lot less tackier than some, which is a major plus and I love this colour.

Oasis Beauty Fruit Smoothie Exfoliating Face Mask*-Correct me if I'm wrong but exfoliating face masks don't seem to be a common thing so naturally when this one turned up I was very curious. The fact the name also contains the words fruit and smoothie further enticed me. What we have here is a mask combined with a scrub. You apply this like you would any face mask and then dampen your hands to work the scrub in. It smells amazing and it works wonders, especially on uneven skin and somewhat angry, blemish prone skin. It's organic, and all-natural, the microbeads are actually jojoba ones. This mask is a new staple in my routine and it's one of those products I look forward to using each week. I'm not sure if Oasis Beauty are available outside New Zealand but kiwis, you should definitely check them out.